January 09, 2013

Discarded Ideas

This is an exciting day for me—my first blog post as an
official member of The LadyKillers. I’m going to have to work hard to keep up
with such distinguished company. So with that in mind, here’s my take on
Discarded Ideas.

My mother used to say I had “big ideas.” And she was right.
I was going to become a rock star, have five children, become a chef, write the
great American novel, and move to Alaska. Taylor Swift can stop looking over
her shoulder. And Lady Gaga can breathe a sigh of relief, since my short stint
with The Possums didn’t yield a single gig.

Narsai David is safe from me, no matter how much I love to
cook.

And I’ll never ski K2 or windsurf from Maui to
Molokai.

My son has had to take the place of five children--something he did quite well when he was a teenager. After my last backpacking adventure, I gave up on hiking the Pacific
Trail. As for moving to Alaska, I have no interest in tangling with Mama
Grizzly.

But one idea I never discarded was that of being a published
writer. Granted, Tea Oerbhet and Jami Attenberg can stop trembling when they
hear my name—the great American novel is probably not in my future. But four months
ago, my dream of finding a publisher came true and I’m still holding onto the
idea of being a widely read mystery writer.

I wonder which of the story ideas I’ve jotted down in the
past twelve months will be discarded, and which ones will have “legs?” I recently
read the beginning of a prospective novel I called MISTAKEN HEART, in which a
woman cowers in a cheap motel room, terrified that her abusive husband will
come after her. It’s an interesting few pages, but I have no idea where it was
going. And when I read it, nothing came to mind about what would happen next. I
may keep it in my “ideas” file, but I have a suspicion that it will go nowhere.
Another idea I had for a romantic suspense novel I called TRIPLE OR NOTHING is
more promising, but will it cry out to be written

By contrast I’ve jotted down ideas for two more books in my
Samuel Craddock series. I’ve written the first chapter of one and as soon as I
read over it, I knew what would happen in the next chapter. And I’m pretty sure
I know who did what and why. The other one concerns a recurring character and
her not-so-nice brother. These two stories keep coming back to me, every time
with new details. They are stories that want to be told.

At least once a day I think, “What if…” And sometimes I take a few notes. Most of these ideas will be discarded, or maybe come back as
a little piece of something I’m working on. The ones that keep nudging me are
the ones that don’t get discarded.

Comments

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Hi Terry!
So glad to have you here! And I have to say, I love the tentative titles you list (Triple or Nothing ... Mistaken Heart ...). Do your ideas/titles spring up simultaneously? Or does the title come first? I'm curious!
And oh yes, I remember the days "back when" when I, too, had "big ideas." Of course, those ideas changes regularly with each birthday. ;-)

Ann, I'm so happy to join The LadyKillers. As for your question, titles are either really, really hard or they come immediately. I love those two titles, but one story seems quite robust while the other will probably quietly disappear.

Welcome aboard, Terry! It's always nice when stories let you know they want to be told. That means they definitely have "legs."
Congratulations on finding a publisher -- I look forward to reading the first in what I'm sure will be many Samuel Craddock mysteries!

Welcome Terry - it's great to share LK space with you. Your photos are pretty cool - they say you tried new things and stuck your neck out, which is probably what counts in the long run. And, since you gave me the title of my first published mystery, I know that's a talent of yours!

Welcome, Terry. Sounds like you've all kinds of great ideas. Why not work in the domestic abuse theme into Triple or Nothing? And as for Alaska, forget the Mama Grizzly. I'd be more worried about Sara Palin.